Daytona hotelier sentenced to 15 years in sexual exploitation of boy

ORLANDO -- Dennis Devlin, the hotelier hounded for nearly two decades with allegations of sexual misconduct with young boys, was sentenced Friday to 15 years in federal prison.

That chapter of accused sexual offenses, which hung over Devlin and his family's Daytona Beach hotel, closed when he was led off in handcuffs.

"I'm from the old school," Devlin, 57, said as he was sentenced. "I have to be responsible for my actions."

Devlin, whose mother has owned the Desert Inn at 900 N. Atlantic Ave. in Daytona Beach since the mid 1990s, was arrested in February after a raid on the hotel. He pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting a minor.

FBI agents and city police were told Devlin had videotaped a 13-year-old boy engaged in sexual acts.

Police officials were all too aware that Devlin had escaped conviction on similar allegations before. But this time, Devlin could not get around video evidence. In April, he pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting the boy.

In court Friday, Devlin told U.S. District Judge John Antoon II he acted alone when he took pictures and videos of the young teen with a 20-year-old man who brought the boy to him. There was no network of "pedophiles," he said.

Devlin insisted he never shared or distributed the video clips and photos, which were found stashed in the ceiling of his room.

"I was not involved with any other people, there was no pedophile, no distribution, there was nothing," he said. "There was no other children."

Devlin had been arrested multiple times since 1991 on allegations of sexual misconduct with young boys. All of Devlin's previous charges were dismissed for a lack of evidence. In the newest case, the video evidence against Devlin was especially damaging.

As long as 23 years ago, Devlin was fighting charges involving young boys. Prosecutors in Ocean City, Md., dropped a 13-count criminal case against Devlin in 1988.

Five years later, Devlin was charged with 23 crimes involving a young boy who said Devlin paid him for sex.

Devlin was convicted of a single count in that case and spent 22 months in prison. He was banned from the beachside by a judge.

At the time, Devlin told investigators his acts with young boys were "a challenge."

"It's a challenge to me, " Devlin said to a State Attorney's Office investigator on Nov. 13, 1991. "I know that I'm sick. It's like alcoholism."

Years later, in 2002, the boy in that case recanted and the conviction was overturned. It was disclosed that the boy agreed to testify against Devlin so he could be released from a school for boys.

Although he had no prior convictions, Devlin's past was a constant presence in the latest case.

Devlin's lawyer, Mike Lambert, said the overturned conviction and all other allegations against Devlin have one thing in common. "That common thread has been that he is the owner of the Desert Inn, and as a result, he has a lot of money."

While Devlin has presented himself as the hotel owner, it is his mother, Irene Devlin, and her corporate entity, who owns the hotel, Lambert said.

Whatever his role in the Desert Inn, the judge ordered Devlin to forfeit his interest in the hotel.

Federal prosecutor Karen Gable brought up Devlin's history, pointing out his six prior arrests to show "he has an uncontrollable appetite for sexually exploiting children."

The final case came to light when the family of the 13-year-old went to authorities. Michael Ehmen, 20, who knew the boy, had taken him to Devlin for the photo sessions.

Four DVD recordings of the boy were also found, stashed in the ceiling at the hotel, including some in which Devlin could be heard "directing" the action, authorities said.

The boy's family, who is not being identified because of the nature of the crime, has since filed a civil lawsuit against Devlin and the Desert Inn.

The child's grandmother told the judge in court Friday how "sick and angry" she feels about "what he has done to my grandson."

Devlin apologized to the family of the 13-year-old boy and "anyone for their inconvenience."

"It was a situation that should never have happened," he said.

Prosecutor Gable said the evidence shows Devlin "is a danger to society and deserves to go to prison for 15 years."

Judge Antoon ordered Devlin to be on supervised probation for life, with sexual offender conditions that include polygraph tests and sex offender treatment.

He ordered Devlin to pay $6,000 to the boy's family for psychiatric therapy, which the boy has been undergoing since Devlin's arrest.

After the hearing, the boy's grandmother said she hopes she never sees Devlin again.

"I wish they would have thrown away the key," she said.

Ehmen, who also pleaded to the exploitation charge for his role in bringing the boy to Devlin, will be sentenced Aug. 5.

Local hotel owners said they didn't think the publicity was "helpful" for the tourism business but agreed the tarnish was isolated to Devlin. The hotel had suffered some blows during state inspections in recent years.

Last year, the Desert Inn showed up on a list by TripAdvisor as one of the "dirtiest hotels" in America. The criminal case against Devlin followed weeks later.

"I think it was a very narrow situation," said Tom Staed, whose family owns the Bahama House in Daytona Beach Shores and built many of the areas biggest and best-known hotels and resorts.

"It had nothing to do with anyone else in the hotel business."

Staed, a former head of the Florida Hotel and Motel Association, said he's never met Devlin and knows only what he's heard around town.

"As a father and grandfather of six, I am not very overjoyed with the type of behavior he was involved in," Staed said. "But I don't know the man. The world is a crazy place."